About MoonMot

"The music of MoonMot is characterised by its dense, energetic front line. Earthy ostinatos and wild, often free collective improvisations permeate this music, which brings a large portion of punk attitude. Fender Rhodes and electronics form welcome splashes of colour and also create a calmer, more expansive sound, with frequent dialogue between the front line and rhythm section. This empathetic, refreshingly radical group convinces with their great commitment and exploration of political themes."

MoonMot are six musicians from Bern and London. All six represent a young generation of improvising musicians who have sharpened their own voices in countless performances around the world. Together they are working on current developments in European jazz.

The band emerged from the activities of the LUME Collective in London run by the band's two saxophonists Dee Byrne and Cath Roberts. Together with bassist Seth Bennett and drummer Johnny Hunter, they were invited to Jazzwerkstatt Bern in 2017, where they played for the first time with Bern musicians Oli Kuster (Keys) and Simon Petermann (trombone, electronics). After a successful concert the band were invited to perform at the renowned EFG London Jazzfestival later that year.

All six members of MoonMot pursue their own projects as bandleaders. In this formation, the six musicians meet as equal voices to explore the freedoms and subtleties of playing together. MoonMot's musical stylistic devices include three pairs of opposites: composition/improvisation, acoustic/electronic sounds and even/odd time signatures. These contrasts are met by the musicians with an openness that always focuses on both the tradition of jazz music and current developments in other musical styles.

In March 2019 the band toured Switzerland and performed at the BeJazz Transnational. competition. They found time in their touring schedule to record an album, which will be released on vinyl in 2020.